From Hand-Washing Hygiene to Radiation Disasters, UB Researchers Mark National Public Health Week

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- National Public Health Week, April 2-6, will be
observed by the University at Buffalo's School of Public Health and
Health Professions with two seminars that are free and open to the
public.

On April 2, Randy Carter, PhD, UB professor and associate chair
of the Department of Biostatistics in the UB School of Public
Health and Health Professions, will discuss "Radiation Disasters:
From Hiroshima to Fukushima." On April 5, Pavani Ram, PhD,
assistant professor of social and preventive medicine, will discuss
"Why don't people wash their hands? Underestimating the challenges
to motivating a 'simple behavior.'"

Both seminars will take place at noon in 144 Farber Hall on the
UB South Campus. They also will be shown live via Webex. For
registration information and to view the seminars online, go to http://sphhp.buffalo.edu/nphw.php

"We're proud to celebrate National Public Health Week, which
aims to raise awareness of issues important to improving the
public's health and to encourage individuals and communities to
take pro-active measures to help improve their lives," says Lynn
Kozlowski, PhD, dean of the UB School of Public Health and Health
Professions.

"This is in line with our school's dedication to public health
education that focuses on prevention, wellness and evidence-based
practice. Our integrated approach is reflected in all of our
programs -- biostatistics, community health and health behavior,
epidemiology, rehabilitation science and exercise and nutrition
sciences, which prepare our students to face today's most critical
health challenges."

Carter will review the history of radiation disasters that have
had the most significant impacts on public health. Since 1989, he
has worked with the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) in
Japan, which conducts population-based studies on the survivors of
the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb detonations.

"At least 37 notable civilian radiation accidents and at least
62 military nuclear accidents have occurred since 1950," says
Carter, who notes that because low-dose radiation effects are still
unknown, it is difficult to estimate public health effects. He will
discuss how the Japanese government's study of health effects in
the aftermath of Fukushima will help inform new policies on
acceptable doses of radiation.

Ram will discuss a puzzling public health contradiction: while
hand-washing with soap has been shown to decrease the prevalence of
pneumonia and diarrhea by up to 50 percent in low-income settings,
only a minority of mothers of young children wash their hands at
times relevant to pathogen transmission.

She asks, "Why do we find it difficult to motivate improved
hand-washing behavior among mothers of children so vulnerable to
infection and death? What are the motivators and barriers of
improved hand-washing behavior in low-resource settings around the
world?" Ram will discuss interventions that she and colleagues are
designing to improve hand-washing behavior enough to have impact on
health outcomes in medically underserved areas around the
world.

Greg Valentine, professor of geology and director of UB's Center
for Geohazard Studies, is taking full advantage of land owned by
WNY based Calspan Corp. to create singular large scale simulations
of volcanic activity.